Note: I'm considering this a companion post to /u/dancole42's post from a year ago. They included a video with side-by-side comparisons; go check it out: https://www.reddit.com/r/photography/comments/1nyu6i5/a_guide_to_mpix_printing_options/

I recently ordered one of my wedding photos in the 7 different paper types that MPix currently offers. This is better fit for a long-form blog post, but I don't have a blog, so I'm trying to keep this concise yet comprehensive.

TL;DR AT THE BOTTOM

The 7 paper types I ordered are:

Paper Type	Price	Coating Price	Total	Description (from MPix)
1. E-Surface w/ Lustre Coating	$0.39	$0.49	$0.88	Most popular. Semi-gloss paper offers accurate color, lifelike skin tones, and realistic saturation. Lustre = water-based coating adds rich sheen + protects from UV & fingerprints.
2. Metallic w/ Lustre Coating	$0.65	$0.49	$1.14	Combo of film & laminate layers resulting in metallic shine. Pearlescent surface, ultra-bright backgrounds, smooth photo finish. Lustre = water-based coating adds rich sheen + protects from UV & fingerprints.
3. Giclee on Black & White	$0.49	-	$0.49	Designed for B&W. Exceptional detail & image quality. Printed on Semi-Gloss Giclee paper.
4. Giclee on Semi-Gloss Photographic	$0.49	-	$0.49	Lifelike color and realistic saturation with the finish of a traditional photo print.
5. Giclee on Glossy Photographic	$0.49	-	$0.49	Glossy finish featuring rich colors with look & texture of a traditional photo print.
6. Giclee on Deep Matte Photographic	$0.99	-	$0.99	Lustreless, featuring an incredibly smooth surface that is soft to the touch. Rich color & bold whites.
7. Giclee on Fine Art Photographic	$0.99	-	$0.99	Thick matte paper with a subtle watercolor texture.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The Black & White and Metallic w/ Lustre Coating options feel like they are in their own categories. When ranking these paper types, Metallic technically came in last for most of them, but that doesn't mean it's the worst. It's just a different vibe entirely. If you want a pearlescent sheen, it's a great option. Because these two paper types fit into different categories, I'm leaving them out of my rankings. They both look great, though.

NOTE #2: ALL of these look great from a distance. This was an exercise in splitting hairs. I'd guess 90% of non-photographers would have trouble telling these apart (except the Deep Matte & Fine Art, due to the... matteness & card stock type feel). You can't really go wrong, in my opinion. But I do have my preferences.

NOTE #3: The paper type that I ranked #1 and the type I'd most likely print to frame are different. Make sure to read the end for that.

Now for the rankings... keep in mind this is splitting hairs for the most part

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Sharpness: #1. E-Surface + Lustre, #2. Giclee Glossy, #3. Giclee Semi-Glossy, #4. Fine Art, #5. Deep Matte.

E-Surface really surprised me here, it was really sharp. Giclee glossy & semi-glossy are both very sharp as well. Sharpness takes a step down at Fine Art & Deep Matte due to the matte finish, but they are by no means blurry.

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Color Accuracy: #1. E-Surface + Lustre, #2. Giclee Glossy, #3. Giclee Semi-Glossy, #4. Fine Art, #5. Deep Matte.
This was a really hard category to judge. I feel as if my rankings could totally change each time I were to look at them. Subtle differences exist but not in a bad way for any of them.

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Best-looking colors: #1. E-Surface + Lustre, #2. Giclee Glossy, #3. Fine Art, #4. Giclee Semi-Glossy, #5. Deep Matte.
Fine Art and Semi-Glossy swapped here, interestingly. I think Fine Art is slightly warmer, it just overall looked slightly better.

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Contrast: #1. E-Surface + Lustre, #2. Giclee Glossy, #3. Giclee Semi-Glossy, #4. Fine Art, #5. Deep Matte.
Again, E-surface + Lustre pulling out a surprising win. It was a very, very close category though. Like sharpness, contrast again takes a step down at the Fine Art & Deep Matte paper types, but neither are bad. I tend to think this is an inherent limitation with matte finishes, though I'm no expert.

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Shadow Detail: #1. Giclee Glossy, #2. E-Surface + Lustre, #3. Giclee Semi-Glossy, #4. Fine Art, #5. Deep Matte.

Similar notes to above. Very close call, with the biggest separation happening when going to Fine Art & Deep Matte.

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Highlight Detail: #1. Giclee Glossy, #2. E-Surface + Lustre, #3. Giclee Semi-Glossy, #4. Deep Matte, #5. Fine Art.

Another tough category to judge. Read this to mean: all great. Biggest separation is again Fine Art & Deep Matte.

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Best Surface/Texture/Sheen: #1. Giclee Glossy, #2. E-Surface + Lustre, #3. Fine Art, #4. Deep Matte, #5. Giclee Semi-Glossy.

Most surprising category for me. Glossy, while reflective (but NOWHERE near as much as I would've guessed), has hardly any distracting texture. E-Surface + Lustre has minimal texture, but still has some. Fine Art's "subtle watercolor texture" is nice, and there's no reflections for either Fine Art or Deep Matte. Giclee Semi-Glossy shocked me in a bad way. By far the most texture/pattern and very distracting under direct light.

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Glare Resistance: #1. Fine Art, #2. Deep Matte, #3. Giclee Glossy, #4. E-Surface + Lustre, #5. Giclee Semi-Glossy.

The matte finishes of Fine Art & Deep Matte make them obvious #1/2. I might get some eyebrow raises for putting glossy #3, but under direct light, the reflection was not that distracting since there is essentially no texture/pattern/overlay. Giclee Semi-Glossy's texture was too distracting to put it anywhere except last place.

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Most Lifelike: #1. E-Surface + Lustre, #2. Giclee Glossy, #3. Giclee Semi-Glossy, #4. Deep Matte, #5. Fine Art.

This category is brought to you by: sharpness. More or less. Fine Art goes to last place on a technicality because of the subtle watercolor finish.

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Premium Feel: #1. Fine Art, #2. Giclee Glossy, #3. Giclee Semi-Glossy, #4. E-Surface + Lustre, #5. Deep Matte.
Fine Art is the obvious #1 due to the thicker card stock. 2-4 are very close. Deep Matte feels flimsy, almost like printing a color photo on a standard piece of printer paper.

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SUMMARY / CONCLUSION / TL;DR

1. Overall favorite: Giclee Glossy due to its blend of vibrant colors, contrast, sharpness, and the deciding factor: basically no texture. When I think 4x6, this is what I think of. And they did it very well. E-Surface + Lustre would be my favorite if not for the very slight texture. I love how sharp E-Surface is.

2. Best to frame/display: Fine Art, even though it was lower on the individual categories. The fact that it has 0 reflection makes it a great choice for displaying in any place in your home. FWIW, it's also my wife's favorite overall.

3. Best value: I wish I had an E-Surface print w/o Lustre to compare, but based on the pricing of the paper types I got, Giclee Glossy is the winner at $0.49/ea. If E-Surface with no Lustre coating at $0.39/ea looks the same as with the coating, it wins this category.

4. Biggest surprises: 1. I thought E-Surface, being the cheapest at $0.39 before the Lustre coating, would be the worst. But it's actually a contender for the top spot. I see why this is their most popular finish. Plus, it's so sharp. 2. Semi-glossy, given it has the most distracting texture alone, seemed the cheapest and overall would be one of my last picks for prints. Interestingly, I ordered a photobook with semi-glossy pages, and did NOT have this experience. I loved it in the photobook. I don't know if the 4x6 was a misprint or what, but it was surprisingly one of my least favorites. 3. Glossy was nowhere near as reflective as I was expecting. The colors pop. I was surprised by how much I liked it. 4. I have no clue where Deep Matte is supposed to fit in MPix's lineup. If you want a matte finish, just go Fine Art photographic at the same price.

5. Don't forget...: Metallic + Lustre coating is still a great choice, but seems like I would only use it for certain types of photographs. My mind immediately goes to Christmas cards, wedding invites/save the dates, etc. It's less true to life, but fun. B&W is good for..B&W photos :).

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A Comparison of MPix's 7 Paper Types